The delightful Scottish actorAlan Cummingis a true chameleon. His appearance enhances any movie or shows with his playful demeanor and theatricality. He’s a Tony winner forCabaretand a multi-Emmy nominee forThe Good Wife.
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Currently, Cumming is a core cast member on the Apple TV+ musical comedy seriesSchmigadoon!and the master of ceremonies on the Peacock reality seriesTraitors. He’s also playing Lou Hendricks in the upcoming Liam Neeson detective flickMarlowe. From big franchises likeX-MenandJames Bondto indie fare, the best of Cumming’s wide-ranging cinema credits speak for themselves,and his work has been cataloged on Rotten Tomatoes.
1’Second Best’ (1994)
1994 dramaSecond BeststarsWilliam Hurtas Graham, a Welsh postman who has always wanted a son. Graham adopts James, an orphaned ten-year-old who deeply misses his biological father, and the film traces their new father/son relationship. Cumming plays the role of Bernard, James' social worker.
Second Bestis the highest-rated film with Cumming in the cast, which has a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. That 100% only comes from six reviews, including a fairly positive notice from the late, greatRoger Ebert. While Cumming is not the main focus of the film, the film is noteworthy for being the highest-rated one in his filmography.
2’Spy Kids' (2001)
The first entry inRobert Rodriguez’s family action comedy seriesSpy Kidscharmed audiences in 2001. Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa VegaandDaryl Sabara) have to save their spy parents (Antonio BanderasandCarla Gugino) from the mischievous children’s TV host Fegan Floop (Cumming) and his minions. With a host of cool gadgets to aid them on the mission, the Cortez kids' adventure is a rollicking delight.
The originalSpy Kidshas a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.The 2001 film is still beloved by kids and adults to this day. Cumming’s impish performance as Floop (“Floop is a madman, help us, save us!") is one of the most fun villain-to-anti-hero performances in any family movie, and he returns for a few of the sequels as an ally of sorts to the kid heroes.
3’My Old School' (2022)
My Old Schoolis an unorthodox true-crime documentary based on a wild true story.In 1993, a mysterious 17-year-old boy named Brandon Lee enrolled at a private school in Scotland — and unbeknownst to anyone there, he was lying about his age and identity. This documentary chronicles this man’s lie, how it spiraled, and who it affected.
What makesMy Old Schoolso unique is that instead of appearing on camera, Brandon Lee only supplies his voice, and Cumming thrillingly lipsyncs in his stead. The documentary is also animated throughout, adding an extra jolt of nostalgia to its ’90s-set subject.My Old Schoolhas a respectable 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
4’Sweet Land' (2006)
2006’sSweet Landis an independent film written and directed byAli Selim, based on the short story “A Gravestone Made of Wheat.” German Inge (Elizabeth Reaser) immigrates to Minnesota and meets Norwegian immigrant Olaf (Tim Guinee), and a burgeoning farmland romance blossoms between them despite community outcry over Inge’s past in Europe. Cumming plays Young Frandsen, an original character not present in the short story.
Sweet Landhas a commendable 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was ranked as one of the best films of 2006 by major critics from the Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Weekly and won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. Cumming not only performed in the film but was a producer on the project, which makesSweet Landa must while exploring his filmography.
5’X2' (2003)
The second ofBryan Singer’sX-Menfilms,X2is an ensemble-focused superhero adventure, continuing the X-Men saga from the first film in the series. When former Army commander Stryker (Brian Cox) becomes a threat to the X-Men and a mutant registration act looms, Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) must join forces to fight their enemy in common. Cumming plays Nightcrawler, a deadly, blue-skinned mutant.
X2has an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s one of the highest-rated films in theX-Menfranchise on the site and the highest-rated of the original trilogy. Cumming notoriously had a hard time making the film,spending hours on end in makeup and suffering through what he has called out to be an abusive and dangerous set.
6’Battle of the Sexes' (2017)
Feminist sports dramedyBattle of the Sexesis based on the true story of a televised tennis bout between young rising starBillie Jean King(Emma Stone) and chauvinist tennis veteranBobby Riggs(Steve Carell). Their professional and personal lives are on the line, especially for King, as she fights for equal pay for all the women in the professional tennis circuit. Cumming playsTed Tinling, Billie Jean’s stylist and one of her closest fellow queer allies.
Battle of the Sexesearned 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite its positive reception, the film failed to catch fire at the box office and only made $18.6 million on a $25 million budget. Even so, the film received several awards nominations, including Golden Globe nods for Stone and Carrell.
7’Emma' (1996)
Jane Austen’sclassicEmmachronicles the romantic misadventures of the titular young socialite (Gwyneth Paltrow) as she plays matchmaker to her society peers. Cumming plays Mr. Elton, a charismatic young vicar whom Emma wants to match up with her friend Harriet (Toni Collette). Mr. Elton, however, has his ambitions set on Emma.
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Emmahas an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. Not the last major Hollywood adaptation of the story,Emmawould be revisited inAutumn DeWilde’s stylish 2020 adaptation starringAnya Taylor-Joy.Emmais also the source material for the classic comedyClueless.
8’GoldenEye' (1995)
1995’s James Bond adventureGoldenEyefinds 007 (Pierce Brosnan, in his first outing as Bond) on a race to stop a Russian crime organization from destroying the world with a powerful weapon called the GoldenEye. Like any good Bond adventure, the film is action-packed and thrilling fun, with plenty of international intrigue for the super spy to maneuver through. Cumming plays Russian hacker Boris Grushenko, one of the villains Bond contends with on his mission.
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GoldenEyehas an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and is in the review aggregator’s top ten highest-rated films in the series. This popular Bond film even spawned a beloved video game adaptation, where the player can indeed encounter Grishenko. Cumming’s performance in the film was his first taste of mainstream success, and his take on Grishenko became a blueprint character for many hacker-type characters in movies and TV in the years followingGoldenEye.
9’Any Day Now' (2012)
Any Day Nowis a moving and sad drama partially based on a true story. In the 1970s, nightclub performer Rudy (Cumming) and district attorney Paul (Garrett Dillahunt) take in Marco (Isaac Leyva), a 14-year-old with Down Syndrome, all but abandoned by his mother after her arrest. The film follows the couple’s fight to gain custody of Marco and the struggle that ensues.
Any Day Nowhas a solid 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film won many audience choice awards on the film festival circuit and picked up a GLAAD Media Award for Best Film in Limited Release.
10’Nicholas Nickleby' (2002)
The Dickensian ensemble dramedyNicholas Nicklebychronicles the coming of age of the title character (Charlie Hunnam) as he tries to help himself, his family, and his friends out of hardship after the patriarch of his family passes away. From boarding school to a theatre troupe to the city streets, Nicholas encounters all sorts of interesting characters. Cumming plays Mr. Folair, a Scottish member of a theatre troupe Nicholas falls in with on his travels; Folair loves to dance a highland jig at any opportunity he can.
Nicholas Nicklebyhas a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film earned a Best Acting Ensemble award from the National Board of Review. And what a cast it has: in addition to Cumming and Hunnam, the cast includesJamie Bell,Anne Hathaway,Nathan Lane,Christopher Plummer, andJim Broadbent, among many other stars.
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